Forest attrition is higher in the Western US, in public and rural lands

Analysis of satellite data in the 1990s identified that the average distance to forest in the continental US increased by 14% during the 1990s. Further landscape grouping identified higher forest attrition in the Western US and in public and rural lands.

Further information:S. Yang, G. Mountrakis (2017). Forest dynamics in the U.S. indicate disproportionate attrition in western forests, rural areas and public lands. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0171383. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171383. [2.3MB pdf]. See NY Times and Washington Post coverage here.